The present invention relates to infant seats and carriers, and more particularly to a collapsible infant carrier which folds into a compact unit for storage and transportation.
Various types of seats and carriers have been heretofore known for transporting and carrying infants. For example, the U.S. Pat. to McDonald et al Nos. 4,516,806; Wise No. 4,634,175; Brownlie et al No. 4,688,850; and Johnson, Jr. No. 4,371,206 disclose several types of heretofore available infant carriers. The infant carriers disclosed in these references generally comprise one-piece shells having seat portions and backrest portions which are oriented at fixed angles to one another. The U.S. Pat. to Deloustal No. 4,274,674, on the other hand, discloses an infant seat with a reclineable backrest portion, and the infant's seat disclosed in the above-mentioned U.S. Pat. to Wise further includes a rotatable handle which locks in various carrying, rocking, feeding, and sleeping positions.
Nevertheless, while the infant seats of the prior art have had their own advantageous features, they have generally been rather bulky, cumbersome, and unwieldy to carry. Further, they have generally been relatively large and of irregular configuration, and therefore they have been difficult to transport and store.